Grief Quotes | Beyond Motive 2/5

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Grief Quotes

"Only tears can hear the sound of pain when warm blood reddens discolored stain."

"Only tears can hear the sound of pain when warm blood reddens discolored stain."

Munia Khan, Bangladeshi Poet

Grief, Pain, Tears, Blood, Emotion

6

"It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness."

"It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness."

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman

Grief, Hair, Sorrow

5

"Striving to tell his woes, words would not come; For light cares speak, when mighty griefs are dumb."

"Striving to tell his woes, words would not come; For light cares speak, when mighty griefs are dumb."

Samuel Daniel, English Poet

Grief, Dumb, Light, Words

5

"Tearless grief bleeds inwardly."

"Tearless grief bleeds inwardly."

Christian Nestell Bovee, American Author

5

"Grief, and an estate, is joy understood."

"Grief, and an estate, is joy understood."

Gregory Nunn, American Athlete

5

"Oft have I heard that grief softens the mind, And makes it fearful and degenerate; Think therefore on revenge and cease to weep."

"Oft have I heard that grief softens the mind, And makes it fearful and degenerate; Think therefore on revenge and cease to weep."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Grief, Revenge, Mind, Life

5

"Of course it's heavier, he thought. It's got my grief in it. I pull it along with me everywhere I go, so I do."

"Of course it's heavier, he thought. It's got my grief in it. I pull it along with me everywhere I go, so I do."

Stephen King, American Author

Grief, Truth, Regret, Today, Inspirational

5

"Lamentations comfort only by lacerating the heart still more."

"Lamentations comfort only by lacerating the heart still more."

Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian Novelist

Grief, Sorrow, Heartbreak, Pain, Comfort

5

"Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot imagine that you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope."

"Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot imagine that you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope."

Elizabeth Gilbert, American Novelist

Grief, Hope, Sorrow, Healing

5

"Another form of bargaining, which many people do, and she did too, is to replay the final painful moments over and over in her head as if by doing so she could eventually create a different outcome.It is natural to replay in your mind the details. Deep in your heart you know what is true. Your mouth speaks the words, "My cat has died, but you still don't really want to believe it. You go over and over and over it in your mind. Your heart replays the scene for you for the express purpose of teaching you to accept what has happened. While your heart tries to "rewire your mind to accept it, your mind keeps looking for a different answer. It doesn't like the truth. Like anything else, when you hear it enough, you finally accept that it is true."

"Another form of bargaining, which many people do, and she did too, is to replay the final painful moments over and over in her head as if by doing so she could eventually create a different outcome.It is natural to replay in your mind the details. Deep in your heart you know what is true. Your mouth speaks the words, "My cat has died, but you still don't really want to believe it. You go over and over and over it in your mind. Your heart replays the scene for you for the express purpose of teaching you to accept what has happened. While your heart tries to "rewire your mind to accept it, your mind keeps looking for a different answer. It doesn't like the truth. Like anything else, when you hear it enough, you finally accept that it is true."

Kate McGahan, American Author

Grief, Bargain, Moment, Truth, Acceptance

5

"There was a roaring in my ears and I lost track of what they were saying. I believe it was the physical manifestation of unbearable grief."

"There was a roaring in my ears and I lost track of what they were saying. I believe it was the physical manifestation of unbearable grief."

Barbara Kingsolver, American Novelist

Grief, Pain, Loss, Emotion

5

"They heard a lullaby every time a part of her died in Silence."

"They heard a lullaby every time a part of her died in Silence."

Akshay Vasu, Indian Poet

Grief, Silence, Pain, Soul, Emotion

5

"Strange that grief should now almost choke me, because another human being's eye has failed to greet mine."

"Strange that grief should now almost choke me, because another human being's eye has failed to greet mine."

Charlotte Bronte, British Novelist

Grief, Loss, Connection, Emotion

5

"I whisper over to myself the way of loss, the names of the dead. One by one, we lose our loved ones, our friends, our powers of work and pleasure, our landmarks, the days of our allotted time. One by one, the way we lose them, they return to us and are treasured up in our hearts. Grief affirms, them, preserves them, sets the cost. Finally a man stands up alone, scoured and charred like a burnt tree, having lost everything and (at the cost only of its loss) found everything, and is ready to go. Now I am ready."

"I whisper over to myself the way of loss, the names of the dead. One by one, we lose our loved ones, our friends, our powers of work and pleasure, our landmarks, the days of our allotted time. One by one, the way we lose them, they return to us and are treasured up in our hearts. Grief affirms, them, preserves them, sets the cost. Finally a man stands up alone, scoured and charred like a burnt tree, having lost everything and (at the cost only of its loss) found everything, and is ready to go. Now I am ready."

Wendell Berry, American Poet

Grief, Loss, Acceptance, Strength

5

"What is deservedly suffered must be borne with calmness, but when the pain is unmerited, the grief is resistless."

"What is deservedly suffered must be borne with calmness, but when the pain is unmerited, the grief is resistless."

Ovid, Roman Poet

5

"When you feel sad, you are participating in a venerable experience, to which I, this monument, am dedicated. Your sense of loss and disappointment, of frustrated hopes and grief at your own inadequacy, elevate you to serious company. Do not ignore of throw away your grief."

"When you feel sad, you are participating in a venerable experience, to which I, this monument, am dedicated. Your sense of loss and disappointment, of frustrated hopes and grief at your own inadequacy, elevate you to serious company. Do not ignore of throw away your grief."

Alain de Botton, English Writer

Grief, Sadness, Loss, Experience

5

"Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever? If so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back."

"Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for the time when you thought they would be here forever? If so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back."

Mitch Albom, American Writer

Grief, Loss, Love, Regret, Time

5

"When somebody you love dies, a phase of life's innocence dies with that person, and a part of you dies as well."

"When somebody you love dies, a phase of life's innocence dies with that person, and a part of you dies as well."

Janvier Chouteu-Chando, Cameroonian Author

Grief, Loss, Life, Love

5

"There is no grief like the grief that does not speak."

"There is no grief like the grief that does not speak."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American Poet

4

"There is a kind of euphoria of grief, a degree of madness."

"There is a kind of euphoria of grief, a degree of madness."

Nigella Lawson, British Journalist

4

"When Michael died I was tipped over the edge. I was beyond grief."

"When Michael died I was tipped over the edge. I was beyond grief."

Paula Yates, Welsh Entertainer

4

"I have become a sour woman. I take no joy in meat nor mead, and song and laughter have become suspicious strangers to me. I am a creature of grief and dust and bitter longings. There is an empty place within me where my heart was once."

"I have become a sour woman. I take no joy in meat nor mead, and song and laughter have become suspicious strangers to me. I am a creature of grief and dust and bitter longings. There is an empty place within me where my heart was once."

George R. R. Martin, American Author

Grief, Emptiness, Depression, Loss

4

"You know what the doctor said to me to cheer me up?" Fat said. "There are worse diseases than cancer.""Did he show you slides?"We both laughed. When you are nearly crazy with grief, you laugh at what you can."

"You know what the doctor said to me to cheer me up?" Fat said. "There are worse diseases than cancer.""Did he show you slides?"We both laughed. When you are nearly crazy with grief, you laugh at what you can."

Philip K. Dick, American Writer

Grief, Humor, Pain, Coping

4

"It was not death, for I stood up,And all the dead lie down;It was not night, for all the bellsPut out their tongues, for noon.It was not frost, for on my fleshI felt siroccos crawl,Nor fire, for just my marble feetCould keep a chancel cool.And yet it tasted like them all;The figures I have seenSet orderly, for burial,Reminded me of mine,As if my life were shavenAnd fitted to a frame,And could not breathe without a key;And I was like midnight, some,When everything that ticked has stopped,And space stares, all around,Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns,Repeal the beating ground.But most like chaos,--stopless, cool,Without a chance or spar,--Or even a report of landTo justify despair."

"It was not death, for I stood up,And all the dead lie down;It was not night, for all the bellsPut out their tongues, for noon.It was not frost, for on my fleshI felt siroccos crawl,Nor fire, for just my marble feetCould keep a chancel cool.And yet it tasted like them all;The figures I have seenSet orderly, for burial,Reminded me of mine,As if my life were shavenAnd fitted to a frame,And could not breathe without a key;And I was like midnight, some,When everything that ticked has stopped,And space stares, all around,Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns,Repeal the beating ground.But most like chaos,--stopless, cool,Without a chance or spar,--Or even a report of landTo justify despair."

Emily Dickinson, American Poet

Grief, Death, Despair, Chaos, Emotion

4

"We kept on cooking and walking the dog, taking the kids to the park, cleaning the kitchen, and letting Sara and Adam hate what was going on when they needed to. Sometimes we let them resist finding any meaning or solace in anything that had to do with their daughter's diagnosis, and this was one of the hardest things to do -- to stop trying to make things come out better than they were. We let them spew when they needed to; we offered the gift of no comfort when there being no comfort was where they had landed. Then we shopped for groceries."

"We kept on cooking and walking the dog, taking the kids to the park, cleaning the kitchen, and letting Sara and Adam hate what was going on when they needed to. Sometimes we let them resist finding any meaning or solace in anything that had to do with their daughter's diagnosis, and this was one of the hardest things to do -- to stop trying to make things come out better than they were. We let them spew when they needed to; we offered the gift of no comfort when there being no comfort was where they had landed. Then we shopped for groceries."

Anne Lamott, American Author

Grief, Support, Meaning, Reality

4

"I went on spouting bullshit Encouragements as Gus's parents, arm in arm, hugged each other and nodded at every word. Funerals, I had decided, are for the living."

"I went on spouting bullshit Encouragements as Gus's parents, arm in arm, hugged each other and nodded at every word. Funerals, I had decided, are for the living."

John Green, American Author

Grief, Life, Death, Truth

3

"It was like Percy had faced death before, like he knew about grief. What mattered was listening. You didn't need to say you were sorry. The only thing that helped was moving on-moving forward."

"It was like Percy had faced death before, like he knew about grief. What mattered was listening. You didn't need to say you were sorry. The only thing that helped was moving on-moving forward."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Grief, Happiness, Truth, Life

3

"To Tiffany's surprise, Nanny Ogg was weeping gently. Nanny took another swig from her flagon and wiped her eyes. 'Cryin' helps sometimes,' she said. 'No shame in tears for them as you've loved. Sometimes I remember one of my husbands and shed a tear or two. The memories're there to be treasured, and it's no good to get morbid-like about it."

"To Tiffany's surprise, Nanny Ogg was weeping gently. Nanny took another swig from her flagon and wiped her eyes. 'Cryin' helps sometimes,' she said. 'No shame in tears for them as you've loved. Sometimes I remember one of my husbands and shed a tear or two. The memories're there to be treasured, and it's no good to get morbid-like about it."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Grief, Love, Tears, Memory

3

"Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how."

"Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how."

James Russell Lowell, American Poet

3

"My grief lies all within, and these external manner of laments are merely shadows of the unseen grief that swells with silence in the tortur'd soul."

"My grief lies all within, and these external manner of laments are merely shadows of the unseen grief that swells with silence in the tortur'd soul."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Grief, Truth, Life, Happiness

3

"The world is full of 'friends' of suicide victims thinking 'if I had only made that drive over there, I could have done something."

"The world is full of 'friends' of suicide victims thinking 'if I had only made that drive over there, I could have done something."

Darnell Lamont Walker, American Writer

Grief, World, Friend, Suicide, Victims

3

"There should be a statute of limitation on grief. A rulebook that says it is all right to wake up crying, but only for a month. That after 42 days you will no longer turn with your heart racing, certain you have heard her call out your name. That there will be no fine imposed if you feel the need to clean out her desk; take down her artwork from the refrigerator; turn over a school portrait as you pass - if only because it cuts you fresh again to see it. That it's okay to measure the time she has been gone, the way we once measured her birthdays."

"There should be a statute of limitation on grief. A rulebook that says it is all right to wake up crying, but only for a month. That after 42 days you will no longer turn with your heart racing, certain you have heard her call out your name. That there will be no fine imposed if you feel the need to clean out her desk; take down her artwork from the refrigerator; turn over a school portrait as you pass - if only because it cuts you fresh again to see it. That it's okay to measure the time she has been gone, the way we once measured her birthdays."

Jodi Picoult, American Novelist

Grief, Time, Emotion, Truth

3

"Where grief is fresh, any attempt to divert it only irritates."

"Where grief is fresh, any attempt to divert it only irritates."

Samuel Johnson, English Author

2

"There's some ill planet reigns:I must be patient till the heavens lookWith an aspect more favourable. Good my lords,I am not prone to weeping, as our sexCommonly are; the want of which vain dewPerchance shall dry your pities: but I haveThat honourable grief lodged here which burnsWorse than tears drown: beseech you all, my lords,With thoughts so qualified as your charitiesShall best instruct you, measure me; and soThe king's will be perform'd!"

"There's some ill planet reigns:I must be patient till the heavens lookWith an aspect more favourable. Good my lords,I am not prone to weeping, as our sexCommonly are; the want of which vain dewPerchance shall dry your pities: but I haveThat honourable grief lodged here which burnsWorse than tears drown: beseech you all, my lords,With thoughts so qualified as your charitiesShall best instruct you, measure me; and soThe king's will be perform'd!"

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Grief, Sadness, Truth, Power, Life

2

"Those intricate curves and patterns your people create are beyond human eyes and hands to make. Perhaps we wished to avoid a poor imitation that would only have been an ever-present reminder to us of what we had lost. There is a different beauty in simplicity, in a single line placed just so, a single flower among the rocks. The harshness of the stone makes the flower more precious. We try not to dwell too much on what is gone. The strongest heart will break under that strain."

"Those intricate curves and patterns your people create are beyond human eyes and hands to make. Perhaps we wished to avoid a poor imitation that would only have been an ever-present reminder to us of what we had lost. There is a different beauty in simplicity, in a single line placed just so, a single flower among the rocks. The harshness of the stone makes the flower more precious. We try not to dwell too much on what is gone. The strongest heart will break under that strain."

Robert Jordan, American Author

Grief, Beauty, Loss, Simplicity, Reminder

2

"You will never accept gratitude as a solution to your problems, until you have reached the last stage of grief--acceptance."

"You will never accept gratitude as a solution to your problems, until you have reached the last stage of grief--acceptance."

Shannon L. Alder, American Author

Grief, Gratitude, Acceptance, Healing

2

"Once upon a time, you dragged a part of me into the world of the dead, and now Naoko has dragged another pat of me into that world."

"Once upon a time, you dragged a part of me into the world of the dead, and now Naoko has dragged another pat of me into that world."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Grief, Death, Loss, Memory

2

"Tears are the silent language of grief."

"Tears are the silent language of grief."

Voltaire, French Writer

Grief, Language, Tears

2

"Of all the miracles Po had seen in the time and space of its death, Po thought this--the absorption of another, the carrying of it--was the most bewildering and remarkable of all. Whenever Bundle separated again, Po was left with an ache of sadness that reminded the ghost of the body it had left behind."

"Of all the miracles Po had seen in the time and space of its death, Po thought this--the absorption of another, the carrying of it--was the most bewildering and remarkable of all. Whenever Bundle separated again, Po was left with an ache of sadness that reminded the ghost of the body it had left behind."

Lauren Oliver, American Author

Grief, Loss, Love, Memory, Emotion

2

"To toil, to think, to long, to grieve,-Is such my future fate?The morn was dreary, must the eveBe also desolate?"

"To toil, to think, to long, to grieve,-Is such my future fate?The morn was dreary, must the eveBe also desolate?"

Charlotte Bronte, British Novelist

Grief, Despair, Fate, Future

2

"Each substance of grief hath twenty shadows, which shows like grief itself, but is not so; or sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears, divides one thing entire to many objects: like perspectives which, rightly gaz'd upon, show nothing but confusion."

"Each substance of grief hath twenty shadows, which shows like grief itself, but is not so; or sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears, divides one thing entire to many objects: like perspectives which, rightly gaz'd upon, show nothing but confusion."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Grief, Truth, Regret, Wisdom

2

"For a moment the dark and fearsomely sad thoughts which inhabit her mind grow even sadder and darker, Lisey thinks they will either kill her or drive her insane."

"For a moment the dark and fearsomely sad thoughts which inhabit her mind grow even sadder and darker, Lisey thinks they will either kill her or drive her insane."

Stephen King, American Author

Grief, Truth, Regret, Power, Today

2

"The grief that does not speak whispers the o'erfraught heart and bids it break."

"The grief that does not speak whispers the o'erfraught heart and bids it break."

William Shakespeare, English Dramatist

Grief, Sadness, Truth, Power, Life

2

"I saw her tonight. I didn't mean to and I wasn't prepared for it.I came across her sweet smiling face and I had no choice but to be confronted with all the emotions and memories I associated with her.It brought me back to this past summer when she passed from this world into the next and how I watched the minutes in the day pass and felt the sorrow of the approaching sunset knowing that darkness would soon follow.There is something profound about the first night after someone you love dies.Seeing her again and mourning the loss of her anew reminded me that we keep too much to ourselves and we let people go without them ever knowing how much they touched us, intrigued us, taught us, or moved us.I'm a firm believer in actions doing the telling, but people need to hear it as well."

"I saw her tonight. I didn't mean to and I wasn't prepared for it.I came across her sweet smiling face and I had no choice but to be confronted with all the emotions and memories I associated with her.It brought me back to this past summer when she passed from this world into the next and how I watched the minutes in the day pass and felt the sorrow of the approaching sunset knowing that darkness would soon follow.There is something profound about the first night after someone you love dies.Seeing her again and mourning the loss of her anew reminded me that we keep too much to ourselves and we let people go without them ever knowing how much they touched us, intrigued us, taught us, or moved us.I'm a firm believer in actions doing the telling, but people need to hear it as well."

Donna Lynn Hope, Jamaican Author

Grief, Loss, Memory, Emotion

1

"Death is a misery."

"Death is a misery."

Lailah Gifty Akita, Ghanaian Author

Grief, Death, Misery, Loss, Life

1

"Death is misery! The lifeless person was once full of life."

"Death is misery! The lifeless person was once full of life."

Lailah Gifty Akita, Ghanaian Author

Grief, Death, Misery, Life, Lost

1

"Acknowledge that some moments are just plain awful-desperate and gloomy and painful and miserable and nothing at all but anguish. No truthful, cheerful thought in the world will fix it. So let me cry awhile. Don't try to find a sunbeam where a shroud of darkness encloses me. Let me mourn. Then, after the storm, when the tears have run dry and my eyes choose to open, I will look for your rainbow of hope."

"Acknowledge that some moments are just plain awful-desperate and gloomy and painful and miserable and nothing at all but anguish. No truthful, cheerful thought in the world will fix it. So let me cry awhile. Don't try to find a sunbeam where a shroud of darkness encloses me. Let me mourn. Then, after the storm, when the tears have run dry and my eyes choose to open, I will look for your rainbow of hope."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Grief, Mourning, Truth, Happiness, Wisdom

1

"Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom."

"Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom."

Rumi, Persian Poet

Grief, Compassion, Pain, Love

1

"My wails of sorrow are tormenting my soul."

"My wails of sorrow are tormenting my soul."

Rumi, Persian Poet

Grief, Sorrow, Emotion, Pain

1

"Grief leads you to believe that life will never be ordinary again, and it never really will be for it is made extraordinary as it is touched and transformed by our greatest loves and deepest losses."

"Grief leads you to believe that life will never be ordinary again, and it never really will be for it is made extraordinary as it is touched and transformed by our greatest loves and deepest losses."

Kate McGahan, American Author

Grief, Life, Ordinary, Love

1

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